4 SERMONS llpon the Sérm: VII. venlyTempk ;here we have many fuffèrings and confliEts that we may long for home,Pfal. 1 zo 5. Wo is me that I fojourn in Mefech,thatl dwell in the Tents of /Cedar. Our Pilgrimage feemeth long and tedious to us, when the WoMdhath loft its relifh with us. Otherwise we are loth to depart, and God will not force us into Heaven againft our wills.' idly. Till we be more Sanifrfied This I take for granted, that according to our meafures of grace,fo will be ourmeafures ofgloey,They that have done more work, and are more holy,theirreward will be greater, t Cor. 3.8. Everyman receiveth his own reward, aird. rdv ïóioy 'COMP ,according tohis,own Labour,notonly according to the kind,but according to the degree, for that the Apoftle fpeaketh of there. The more we improve our Talents here, the more glory we íhall have in Heaven : I know not elfe what to makeofthat, Be ruler over ten Cities and five Cities, Luke 59. 16, 17, 18. So Mattb. zo. t .TheMotherof Zebedees Children requefled that her two Sons might fit; the one on his right hand, and tl e other on his left. Chrift doth not deny that there are degrees of Glory in Heaven, fome -. thing thamay be called fitting at his right hand and fitting at his left ; for he faith, It ihall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. As there are degrees ofTor- ment, an hotter and a cooler hell; fo degrees in glory; that vefléls ofa larger boar and fize will hold more than veflèls ofa narrower. Theft and many other confiderations give use to think that as the Stars differ from one another in Glory,fo (hall the Saints of God. But, now who shall have the larger degrees of Glory but thofe that excel in grace ? Corn doth not grow in tha barn but in the field ; there is no growing in grace in the other World,but here our capacities are widened by degrees. Therefore thofe that makea greater pro- grefs in San&ification are morerneet'to bepartakers of this bleffed eftate,niorewrought. for this very thing; they that carry more experiences with them to heaven will theremoft admire grace, and in joy moil of it. 4. The, more.Heavenly minded. For the Apoftle here fpeaketh of thole who were ad- vanced to a greater pitch and height ofgrace ; they that were dead to the intereftsof the Animallife, z [ or. 4. 16. They that made Heavenly things their Scope, they that were affuredly perfwaded of this Bleffed-Eftate, theythat were always groaning and longing after it. 'Tis the wifdom of God to put all things in their, proper places ; everyCreature fuiteth with that Element which is anfwerable to its compofition and frame, Fillies in. the Water,Fowls in the Air : And who are meet to be fet inHeavenly places but thofe that have an Heavenly heart and mind ? God giveth theft Spiritual bleflings to none but thofe who delire them. Not as we lay on gold and fair colours on Wood or Stone, that have no Appetite and delire to them, nor fenfe nor ufe of them, but as we give bread to the hungry, Money to thole that are in want;thefe things were notmatter of Happinefs if they were not earneftly defired;the affe &ion muft firft be exercifed,that we may delire, thankfully accept& entertain theft things when they come: For God will deal with us as rationalÇreatures,who have underflanding,will & affe &ions.'Tis otherwife inMatter of torment then it is in Matter of F,leffednefs ; men may go to Hell againft their, wills, but none go to Heaven againft their wills; the one is infli&ed upon us,the other muft be cho- fen, embraced, purfued, and carnally fought after. Therefore the Heavenly minded are 'meet,'eis their proper place and Countrey,they may fay,God hath wrought us to this very 'thing. Ufe. Are we framed, are we made fit, are we made new creatures, have we thegeneralfit- nefi which is of abfolute neeety ? 'Trd a certain truth that God doth not only give us Hea- ven, but maketh us fit for Heaven. He faveth none but thofe whom he maketh fit to be faved. The Etc& do not by and by from a corrupt eflatego toa glorified,butan holy and fit preparation corned' between;till we be regenerate andfan&ifyed, we are in a total un- fitnefs,for none but the pure in heart fhallfee God, Matrh. 5.8. And without holinefs no man (ball fee the Lord, Heb. 11. 14. All they, and none but they, Titus 3. 5. But according to his Mercy he favedus, by the waJhing of regeneration, and the renewing of the HoÿGhofl. You may as well expe& that God fhould turn day into night, to pleafe a Drunkard, as make the way to Hell to be the way to Heaven, to pleafe an Impenitent finner. Thofe to, whom Chrift will fay, Come ye Bled of my Father, he firft faith come un- to me ye that are weary and heavy laden. Unlefs we have paft from death to life in- a way of grace, we cannot expect to pats from death to life in a way of Glory. z. That gradual and perte /live meetnefs mull belookt after too, though it be not fo ab folutely and indifpenfably neceflary as the former. 1. Are we more dead to the World ? Every day fomewhat of the Spirit of the World is found in Gods Children, but all that while they are unready to get home. When 'cis; more
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